The M3 Amphibious Rig is a self-propelled,
amphibious
Amphibious means able to use either land or water. In particular it may refer to:
Animals
* Amphibian, a vertebrate animal of the class Amphibia (many of which live on land and breed in water)
* Amphibious caterpillar
* Amphibious fish, a fish ...
bridging vehicle
A military engineering vehicle is a vehicle built for construction work or for the transportation of combat engineers on the battlefield. These vehicles may be modified civilian equipment (such as the armoured bulldozers that many nations field) ...
that is used for the projection of tanks and other vehicles across water obstacles.
Development and service
Originally developed by the
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
firm Eisenwerke Kaiserslautern
(EWK, since 2002 acquired by
General Dynamics
General Dynamics Corporation (GD) is an American publicly traded, aerospace and defense corporation headquartered in Reston, Virginia. As of 2020, it was the fifth-largest defense contractor in the world by arms sales, and 5th largest in the Uni ...
European Land Systems), it succeeded the conceptually similar M2 made by the same company. Like its predecessor, the M3 traverses roads on its four wheels, deploying two large aluminium pontoons for buoyancy on water.
Development of the M3 began in 1982, with the final prototype being delivered 10 years later in 1992.
[The Amphiclophy](_blank)
A first order of 64 serial vehicles was made in 1994,
and it entered service with the
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
and
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
armies
in 1996. Since then, the M3 has also been adopted by the armies of the
Republic of China (Taiwan)
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...
and
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
.
An upgraded version, known in some circles as the M3G Military Float Bridge/Raft, is in service with the ROC
and Singapore armies, features an armoured cabin, NBC protection, an air conditioning system and a special tropical kit.
GDELS and Hanwha Defence will jointly manufacture 110 M3K vehicles for the Republic of Korea Army’s KABV requirement.
Operating concept
The M3 is self-deployable by road, operating as a
4x4
Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case ...
wheeled vehicle with a maximum road speed of 80 km/h. Before it is driven into the water for amphibious operation, two large aluminium pontoons are deployed, unfolding them along the length of its hull. The crew exits the vehicle cab to maneuver the pontoon using controls located on top of the hull. In water, the M3 is propelled and steered by 2 fully traversable
pump jets at speeds of up to 14 km/h.
Multiple rigs may be joined by long connectors called "ramps", 4 of which are carried on each vehicle, to form a bridge across a water obstacle. 8 M3 Rigs will bridge a 100m water gap this way, and can be traversed by vehicles up to and including the heaviest 60+ ton
main battle tank
A main battle tank (MBT), also known as a battle tank or universal tank, is a tank that fills the role of armor-protected direct fire and maneuver in many modern armies. Cold War-era development of more powerful engines, better suspension sys ...
like the
Leopard 2A6
The Leopard 2 is a 3rd generation main battle tank originally developed by Krauss-Maffei in the 1970s for the West German army. The tank first entered service in 1979 and succeeded the earlier Leopard 1 as the main battle tank of the West Germ ...
and
Challenger 2
The FV4034 Challenger 2 (MOD designation "CR2") is a third generation British main battle tank (MBT) in service with the armies of the United Kingdom and Oman. It was designed and built by the British company Vickers Defence Systems (now known as ...
. Alternatively, just 2 Rigs may be joined to create a ferry capable of carrying a similar load across much wider water gaps. 3 Rigs joined together may carry up to the equivalent of 2 such
MBTs.
Combat history
Operation Telic
The M3 Amphibious Bridging Vehicle saw its first combat actions in
Operation Telic
Operation Telic (Op TELIC) was the codename under which all of the United Kingdom's military operations in Iraq were conducted between the start of the invasion of Iraq on 19 March 2003 and the withdrawal of the last remaining British forces on ...
, Britain's military operations in the
Iraq War
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish)
, partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...
(until withdrawal in 2011). From 25 March 2003, 23 Amphibious Engineer Squadron, of
28 Engineer Regiment of the
Royal Engineers
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...
ferried elements of
3 Commando Brigade
3 Commando Brigade (3 Cdo Bde), previously called the 3rd Special Service Brigade, is a commando formation of the British Armed Forces. It is composed of the Royal Marine Commandos, alongside commando qualified sailors, soldiers and airmen f ...
across the
Shatt Al-Basrah waterway,
enabling their continued advance on the Iraqi city of
Basra
Basra ( ar, ٱلْبَصْرَة, al-Baṣrah) is an Iraqi city located on the Shatt al-Arab. It had an estimated population of 1.4 million in 2018. Basra is also Iraq's main port, although it does not have deep water access, which is hand ...
.
A subsequent riverine crossing at the
Rumaila oil field
The Rumaila oil field is a super-giant oil field located in southern Iraq, approximately from the Kuwaiti border. Discovered in 1953 by the Basrah Petroleum Company (BPC), an associate company of the Iraq Petroleum Company (IPC), the field is e ...
s was also undertaken by the M3. This action transported three
AS90
The AS-90 ("Artillery System for the 1990s"), known officially as Gun Equipment 155 mm L131, is an armoured self-propelled artillery weapon used by the British Army.
It can fire standard charges up to using 39 calibre long barrel (comp ...
self-propelled howitzers in support of
16 Air Assault Brigade
16 Air Assault Brigade Combat Team, from 1999 to 2021 16 Air Assault Brigade, is a formation of the British Army based in Colchester in the county of Essex. It is the Army's rapid response airborne formation and is the only brigade in the Britis ...
of the British Army.
Operators
![General Dynamics M3 (8662927563)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/62/General_Dynamics_M3_%288662927563%29.jpg)
* -
German Army
The German Army (, "army") is the land component of the armed forces of Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German ''Bundeswehr'' together with the ''Marine'' (German Navy) and the ''Luftwaf ...
(operators have included Pionierbataillon 140 at Emmerich; now remains with 130th Armored Engineer Battalion (Panzerpionierbataillon 130)), 30 vehicles in service
* -
Indonesian Army
The Indonesian Army ( id, Tentara Nasional Indonesia Angkatan Darat (TNI-AD), ) is the land branch of the Indonesian National Armed Forces. It has an estimated strength of 300,000 active personnel. The history of the Indonesian Army has its ...
* -
Republic of China Army
The Republic of China Army (ROCA), previously known as the Chinese Nationalist Army or Nationalist Revolutionary Army and unofficially as the Taiwanese Army, is the largest branch of the Republic of China Armed Forces. An estimated 80% of the ...
* -
Singapore Army
The Singapore Army is the land service branch of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF). The largest of the four branches of the SAF, the Singapore Army traces its origins to the 1st Battalion, Singapore Infantry Regiment (1 SIR), which was formed i ...
* -
British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
, 10 vehicles in service
* -
Brazilian Army
* -
South Korean Army
The Republic of Korea Army (ROKA; ko, 대한민국 육군; Hanja: 大韓民國 陸軍; RR: ''Daehanminguk Yuk-gun''), also known as the ROK Army or South Korean Army, is the army of South Korea, responsible for ground-based warfare. It is the l ...
* -
Latvian Army
The Latvian Land Forces ( lv, Sauszemes spēki, SzS) together with the Latvian National Guard form the land warfare branch of the Latvian National Armed Forces. Since 2007, land forces are organized as a fully professional standing army.
Mission ...
* -
Swedish Army
The Swedish Army ( sv, svenska armén) is the land force of the Swedish Armed Forces.
History
Svea Life Guards dates back to the year 1521, when the men of Dalarna chose 16 young able men as body guards for the insurgent nobleman Gustav Vas ...
, 12 vehicles to be delivered from 2024
See also
*
M104 Wolverine
The M104 Wolverine "Heavy Assault Bridge" is United States armoured vehicle-launched bridge vehicle, designed to lay down a bridge in combat.
Background
Since the 1960s the United States Army has made use of armored bridge-laying vehicles based ...
*
M60 AVLB
The M60 Armored Vehicle Launched Bridge (AVLB) is an armored vehicle based on the M60 Patton main battle tank's hull and used for the launching and retrieval of a scissors-type bridge. The AVLB consists of three major sections: the launcher, the v ...
*
M1074 Joint Assault Bridge
The M1074 Joint Assault Bridge System (JABS) is an American armored military engineering vehicle based on the Abrams M1A1 main battle tank. ASA(ALT)br>Weapon Systems Handbook 2018Page 32 lists how this handbook is organized. 440 pages.
*By Moderni ...
References
External links
General Dynamics European Land Systems - M3 Amphibian{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017
Military engineering vehicles
Military bridging equipment
Amphibious military vehicles
Cold War military vehicles of Germany
Military vehicles introduced in the 1990s
Portable bridges